~ GOAL: 5% reduction in body weight

~ WHY? I need to improve my health. I know without good health, everything else in life is more difficult and in some cases impossible to do.

~ EXERCISE? Walk 30 min every morning. 3 times a week add a strength routine spending 15 to 30 minutes ...starting slowly and steadily building. Nightly, take time to stretch using Yoga for 10 to 15 minutes. Make this a habit so I don't need to think about it, just something I do as part of my daily routine.

~ NUTRITION? Eat Healthy Keto with lots of vegetables using Intermittent Fasting...Meals between noon and 6 PM. Track using MFP. Drink 7 to 8 glasses of water daily.

Pre-Challenge Activity #2 - setting goals:

My over-all goal is to get to my maintenance weight, which is 125-130. Possibly 130 is the more realistic goal, considering my "senior" status. I would be quite happy with that.

During 2022, I gained a few extra lbs (!!) and started shopping for a bigger size. My goal of getting down to maintenance weight would solve that problem, and bring me back to last years previous size.

Hubby are both changing our eating habits, keeping track of and lowering carbs. My overall goal is to find what works for us both with healthier eating habits and not burning out from a too-strict plan.

Part of the goal for eating habits is my goal of finding the recipes that will work for us.

Another part of all this is it's helping me tame my sweet tooth. Let's just say, I was a picky kid who learned to cook very young.....have been perfecting my baking skills ever since. It's best when the sweet stuff isn't in house.

Pre-Challenge Activity #2- Setting goals

My ultimate goal is to gain more strength in my body while losing some body fat. I will do that by:

- Getting back to tracking my food & drink
- Continuing with 1 Pilates Reformer class and 2 Pilates Mat classes
- Add a 4th class to my weekly gym time which includes cardio and strength
- Eliminate fast foods from my diet and replace with more nutritious options home cooked meals, including breads
- Incorporate the 6 week Life Time Arora Intro to Healthy Living session into the 5% challenge.

This is a bit of a novel, but I don’t have the cycles in my life to be on the blogger circuit. I do have this written down, and I’ll be tracking daily. I have tummy tuck surgery coming up in late November, so I have a specific plan to get my body and health in the right place as we enter Week 8 of the Fall 5% Challenge.
Measurable items:
For the first three weeks, I will will spend 300 minutes per week in activity, measured by my Polar watch. The focus will be on moving as opposed to “exercise” or “working out”. It will qualify if it is walking with a minimum duration of 10 minutes (no maximum), hiking, dancing (including aerobics and teaching Irish dance classes), gardening, stretching/yoga, and strength training. The rough framework is 60 minutes per day, five days per week, with the focus on fat burning and core strengthening. The goal is, learn how to be active within my life without being tied to a gym or an exercise schedule. Without being bored.
For the last week, after my surgery, I will be active within the confines of my surgeon’s instructions. I don’t know what will be yet.
For the first 5 weeks, I will eat within my weight-loss average calories. This means I will track to 1100 calories per day, starting on October 7 and working through November 10. Will I lose the 5%? I’m pretty close to my goal now, so losing another 8 pounds in 8 weeks might be a challenge. It doesn’t mean I won’t eat within my calorie goals, track my food, and do my best.
For the last 3 weeks, on the instruction of my surgeon, I will estimate an amount of calories designed to slow down weight loss and stabilize. I will start tracking to 1350 calories per day, starting on November 11 and working through the end of the challenge. Since my tummy tuck occurs in Week 8, I’ll have kind of a wonky week. A very careful, day-by-day, winky-wonky donkey kind of week. 😊 December 2 is the last day of the challenge, and I hope to continue on afterward in the same way that I worked through the Summer Challenge and the IBC.
Will I lose 5%? Probably not; one doesn’t prepare for major abdominal surgery every day. What’s more important is for me to do what makes sense.

Activity #2 goals: my main goal is to get back to strength training (I've already started) had to stop due to health reasons (recovery from minor surgeries, injuries etc) I've been in maintenance but would love to lose about 7-8 more lbs. Also it keeps me accountable & share with like minded people